Welcome to the IARDTM website. This site will provide investment adviser firms and representatives with a variety of information about the IARD system. The Investment Adviser Registration Depository (IARD) is an electronic filing system that facilitates investment adviser registration, regulatory review, and the public disclosure information of investment adviser firms. FINRA is the developer and operator of the IARD system. The system has been developed according to the requirements of its sponsors, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), along with those of an Industry Advisory Council representing the investment adviser firms.
Information geared to the investing public can be found on the SEC website under the “Investor Information” section.
What’s New on IARD
Please look to this area of the home page on a frequent basis for regular updates, new information, and documents about how to use the IARD system. IARD is generally available from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., Eastern Time (ET), Monday through Friday. IARD is not available on FINRA-observed holidays and is not available after 6:00 p.m., ET, on the business day immediately preceding some holidays. Please refer to the IARD Availability Schedule for detailed weekend and holiday availability.
2011 Renewal Program
The 2011 IARD Renewal Program Calendar is now available. Preliminary Renewal Statements will be available online via IARD beginning November 13, 2010. Please visit the IARD Renewal Program Web page for complete details.
Changes for Exam/CE Scheduling Process
FINRA is changing the process for scheduling exams and continuing education (CE) sessions through FINRA’s testing vendors – Pearson VUE and Prometric. To further safeguard the personal identifying information of our exam and CE candidates, FINRA is discontinuing the use of Social Security numbers (SSNs) to schedule exam and CE appointments.
Effective September 15, 2010, individuals will be required to use their CRD or FINRA ID number to schedule an exam or CE appointment and our testing vendors will no longer accept SSNs. All non-FINRA candidates who enroll using the Form U10 will be assigned a FINRA ID number for scheduling purposes.
Deferral of Effective Date for Certain SEC Adviser Applications
Applications for SEC registration on Form ADV filed on or after November 20, 2010, will not be declared effective before January 3, 2011, absent filer requests to the contrary. Filers can request that approval not be deferred either on Schedule D of Form ADV (in the Miscellaneous section), or by calling the SEC IARD Filing Status phone number: (202) 551-7250. The SEC will, however, act on all registration applications within 45 days of filing as required by section 203(c)(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. For additional information regarding the deferral, visit the SEC’s website.
Release 2010.2
View an explanation of changes to IARD and Web CRD® which were implemented with software release 2010.2 on June 28, 2010.
FINRA Entitlement Program
On March 29, 2010, FINRA began introducing firms to changes in the Entitlement Program, including a new Super Account Administrator (SAA) role at each organization. The SAA can create, modify and delete account administrator and user accounts for FINRA applications that the firm uses. In addition, the SAA can manage his or her own access to those FINRA applications. FINRA will transition firms to the SAA entitlement model in phases from late March 2010 through early 2011. Until FINRA notifies your firm to designate an SAA, continue to follow the existing entitlement process by using the AAEF and Modification Forms.
Annual Updating Amendments for IA Firms Registered with the SEC
An Investment Adviser (IA) that is registered with the SEC must submit its Annual Updating Amendment within 90 days of the firm’s fiscal year-end. At the time an IA firm files an Annual Updating Amendment, the firm must have funds in its IARD Daily Account to cover the system processing fee owed. For answers to frequently asked questions regarding the filing of an Annual Updating Amendment, please visit the SEC’s website.
SEC Sets IARD Firm System Processing Fees
The SEC has approved IARD Firm System Processing Fees, effective January 1, 2010. For details of the fees, please view the IARD Firm System Processing Fees Web page.
Deadline For Form U4 Regulatory Action Questions
NASAA reminds investment adviser firms that November 14, 2009, was the effective date for completion of the six regulatory action disclosure questions that were added to the Form U4 on May 18, 2009. Firms must have filed amended Forms U4 for all of their investment adviser representatives to provide answers to these new disclosure questions regarding willful violations. See NASAA’s website for additional details.
For additional information regarding form filing requirements, contact the jurisdiction(s) in which your firm’s representatives are registered. For Web CRD and IARD system-related questions, visit FINRA's Forms U4 & U5 Changes Web page, which includes answers to frequently asked questions regarding the changes.
Michigan State Mandate
The state of Michigan replaced its securities act with the new Uniform Securities Act 2008, PA551, effective October 1, 2009. Under the New Act, the state of Michigan requires the registration of investment adviser representatives (IAR) unless they are exempt from registration. Individuals will use Form U4 through the CRD/IARD System to register IAR’s. Please refer to the state of Michigan’s website to review the act.
FINRA.org: Add to Safe-Sender Email List
NASD and NYSE Member Regulation consolidated to form a single self-regulatory organization for the securities industry known as FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. FINRA is now the operator of the IARD system on behalf of the IARD program sponsors which are the SEC and NASAA. In order to ensure consistent delivery of FINRA emails to your inboxes, please add our email domain, FINRA.org to your firm's safe-sender list as soon as possible. If your email application requires you to enter individual email addresses to your safe-sender list in addition to, or in lieu of, an email domain, please add the following addresses:
Also, if you are an SEC-registered IA firm, please add: SECIARDNotifications@finra.org
SEC Hedge Fund Rule Update:
Visit the SEC website for information on Staff Guidance for Interim Completion of Part 1A of Form ADV, Item 7.B. and Schedule D, Section 7.B.
Attention Filers: If you are a currently state-registered IA firm that is changing from manual paper registration to electronic filing on the IARD system, an electronic Transition Filing should be completed and submitted before you begin to create your electronic Form ADV on IARD. You will not be able to transition your Notice Filing or state registration information if you first begin to create your electronic Form ADV because the system does not allow Transition Filings when you have an existing "Pending" Form ADV filing. For more information regarding Transition Filings, please read NASAA’s Notice Filing & Transition Explanation.
